Any parent knows that the health benefits and nutritional value of fruit alone is not satisfying enough to convince children to eat fruit, but sometimes parenting can be more effective with creative alternatives. Health and nutrition should be a serious matter, but who said you couldn't have some fun with it? Embrace your artistic side and maximize the use of your kitchen utensils with this fun tip on how to make fruit fun, and more importantly, get your children involved in the preparation process!

Things You'll Needassorted fruitkabobsassorted cookie cutters

1. Cut larger fruit into slices no more than 1" thick. For smaller fruit like strawberries and grapes, leave whole or cut in half.

Is there such a thing as healthy chocolate? More and more health researchers agree that there are health benefits of dark chocolate - among them are cell-protecting antioxidants, servings of vital vitamins and minerals, and benefits to the heart. Especially when paired with a highly nutritious fruit rich in fiber and various vitamins such as strawberries, who could disagree that dark chocolate is a healthy indulgence? Enjoy this recipe for a sinfully delicious (yet healthy!) snack.

Most consumers purchase precut fruit as a convenient method of including healthy options in their diet. While precut fruit is certainly more wholesome but equally as convenient as opening a bag of chips, they are not as healthy as they are when enjoyed freshly cut at home because the nutrients of precut fruit are not entirely preserved. Some fruits are challenging and seem time-consuming to prepare, making precut fruit more attractive even at much more expensive prices. Among these intimidating and seemingly impossible fruits to cut is pineapple. What most people don’t know is that a pineapple can be freshly cut in 4 simple steps!

Lay the pineapple on its side, and with a sharp knife, cut off the top and the bottom, removing enough so that none of the brown, fibrous skin remains.

Stand the pineapple upright. Position your knife to cut away the rough skin from top-to-bottom, making sure to include any brown spots. Continue to work around the whole fruit.

Place your pineapple in the upright position, and slice it in half lengthwise. Cut each pineapple in half lengthwise. Stand each piece upright and cut straight down the center to remove the core.

Now the pineapple is ready to slice into any shape or size! A whole pineapple will serve a generous 5-6 cups of whole fruit!